Does it help to be busy when solving problems?

Being an engineer is associated with so many clichés. They dictate that you must be having a certain attitude, certain ticks, and a certain biological time clock. It is said to be an inevitable fact that guarantees the utmost productivity. This also imposes rigid working habits as a sign of concentration and dedication like being stuck to your desk in your working hours and wasting your energy on making sure everybody sees you doing your best.

The world is evolving at a breakneck rate. As an engineer, to meet the common standards and be socially acceptable, intuition has to be oh so tied and oftentimes mixed up with reflection. The two processes have to be carried out synchronously and as intractably as possible as you try to catch up with the level of progress.

The other side of the coin is that this gives little to no room for creativity, which I do not believe emanates while sitting at your desk, thinking and innovating at the same … being busy, you know.

I went through it more than once; never did it occur to me to have this slip road in my mind, transporting me into a whole new way of thinking, when I was faithfully sunk in my working habits.

What is annoying is these small conceptual causalities dominating our behavior and instincts that drive us away from what's important: busyness is supposed to be leading to effectiveness, to euphoria, to satisfaction.

Intuition never splashes when you are busy.

The material overflow on the internet has made it easier than ever to find solutions. As soon as you are given a problem, you stumble upon a semblance of a working feature that can help you in what you want to do.

Since it takes time to come to fruition, you don't have time to ask and trust your gut.

I am referring to something that is akin to deep and unconscious thinking, letting your mind cut its new acquisitions to different and adequate pieces and allowing everything to fall into place. Believe me, in all seriousness, when you're advised to step back and stop to think about a problem for a while, this is for your own good. This can only help you change your perspective. Sometimes, all you need is a slight shift.

If you have already watched Nolan's masterpiece The Prestige, you certainly remember the conversation between Angier and Tesla and the latter's most memorable quote: Obsession is a young man's game .

It is easy to get obsessed. I would rather say it is considered by the majority of people to be the royal route to excellence and disruption these days.

As in romantic relationships, obsession is often mistaken for passion. It is difficult to step back when you have a feeling of uncertainty and a dim light of a consistent emotional reward which teases you from all sides.

From my humble POV, Wisdom would dictate to let go of that desire for instant gratification that fuels so much of the obsession, do something else to boost your energy before going back to the hunt.

Conclusion :

Mental models require time and rest to be representable in your mind. These are most needed when you try to fight your way out of a problem statement towards a workable solution. The fact that it does not instantly sing its music to you should give you a sense of relief as if on a journey; you just never care about your destination, you'll get there when you'll get there.